Special guest lecture at the English German Colloquium

NEWS FROM TÜBINGEN

by Dennis Lindsay

 From time to time our Institute for the Study of Christian Origins has the opportunity to partner, not only with the Protestant faculty of the University of Tübingen, but also with other departments in the University. At one of our English-German Colloquium sessions in July, we were able to host a special guest lecture in cooperation with the Archaeology Department within the framework of a major research project on ancient coins, for which they have received substantial grant funding (“Sonderforschungsbereich 1391”).

Guest lecturer Dr. Tine Rassalle, an independent scholar from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, presented her fascinating research on the phenomenon of unexplained massive coin deposits discovered beneath the floors of a number of ancient synagogues (1st to 8th Century) in Israel. This was one of our best-attended Colloquiums this year, with participants attending in-person and online. Anyone interested in reviewing Dr. Rassalle’s research can find more information on her website: https://www.ancientsynagoguecoins.com

With the start of August comes the end of the summer semester and our academic year in Tübingen. Over the next few weeks Institute staff will be taking some vacation time to rest up a bit and then begin to prepare for the next academic cycle which begins in October.

Summer semester is beginning to wind down

Updates from Tübingen    

by Birgit Hallmann 

A very busy summer semester is beginning to wind down. The Institute, under the new leadership of Dennis Lindsay has, with God´s blessing, resumed full operations in almost all areas.

Increasingly, students and scholars are also coming back to Tübingen in person. I am pleased that the guest room can now be used more intensively again.

22 June 2023
PHD candiate Francesca Lorenzini from University Roma Tre (Rome) presenting in person on:
„The (Up)coming Kingdom of God. Political implications of Jesus’ message between Rome and Jewish Rulers.“ (her professor participated online from Rome)

1. University / English German Colloquium for New Testament 

The EGC for New Testament continues to meet on a weekly basis with speakers from many different countries.

We are now intensively planning lectures for the winter semester as we continue to have more requests from potential speakers than we have available dates. The first presentations fort he fall are already on the schedule.

2.      Symposium „The Great Commandment..“ 2024

Preparations for next year's Symposium are in full swing.
The originally planned date had to be postponed by a few days in consideration of Jewish participants (new date:  October 6–8, 2024).

3.      EES / Institute for Christian Origins

The EES Board of Directors in the USA meets for its annual meeting on 19. July.
We are very happy that there are so many good and successful things to report about the work in Tübingen this year. We ask for God's blessing for the meeting and the tasks in the coming year.

Visit of the Thompsons

NEWS FROM TÜBINGEN
by Birgit Hallmann

1.       Visit of former Institute Director J. Thompson and his wife Carolyn in Tübingen

We were delighted once again to welcome former Institute Director James Thompson and his wife Carolyn on a brief visit to Tübingen in May. James served as Director in 1979-1980 (during my--Dennis'--first visit to Tübingen!), and he and Carolyn have returned frequently over the intervening years. In the meantime Carolyn has published a textbook on teaching Theological German, which we have adopted for our course at the Institute. It was great to reconnect with James and Carolyn and to show off our new Institute location in the Hintere Graben Strasse!

2.       Early texts and publications of the EES and the Institute ( ~ 1970 – 1999) now available digitally online.

We have completed the digitization of early writings and texts of the EES in Tübingen. Interested parties can view and download them in pdf. format from the website of the EES.

Access can be obtained via :

https://eesinc.org/resources

Some authors are:

Alan G. Ahlgri, Dr. Ludwig v. Gerdtell., S. Bartchy, F.W.Norris, W.D.Howden, James O. Duke., R.L. Harrison Jr. R. Nutter, Henry E. Hill, Dale Moody, K. Haaker, The European Evangelist, The overseas Christian, Christ. Church and Church of Christ, Donald E. Steward, D. Lindsay, Henry E. Webb, Robert W. Shaw, Victor L. Hunter,.

Blessed Easter Days

by Birgit Hallmann 

Spring has arrived here in southwest Germany even though Easter this year was colder than the year before.  

Here in Germany, at the Easter Sunday service, we greet one another with the declaration: "Christus ist auferstanden! Er ist wahrhaftig auferstanden! Hallelujah" Christ is risen! He is risen indeed. Allelujah.

In the light of the resurrection of our Lord, the work of the Institute in Tübingen is also blessed.

In late March, we commemorated the anniversary of Beth Langstaff’s death in our noon prayer at the Institute. Those were difficult days in 2022. With the arrival of Dennis, our mission here has received new strength. New contacts and friendships have been made, all course offerings have resumed, and work has intensified fort he next Symposium. For me personally, it is a special pleasure to be able to personally welcome guests to the Institute again this year.

The new summer semester has started again at the University. The Colloquium is still being held „hybrid“, that is in person with the online option.

The first meeting of the English-German Colloquium was on Tuesday, April 27. Johathan Hirschberger presented his work on „Spuren Radaks, Raschis und Ibn Ezras in Luthers Psalmen-Übersetzungen “.

Preparations for the Symposium in 2024 are proceeding rapidly.

In addition, we have started to digitize historical texts from the early years of the EES in Tübingen. These include special lectures and occasional essays published by the EES and the Institute. These will soon be accessible via the EES website in the course of the summer.

In Memoriam:
We extend our sympathy to Bruce and Rosmarie Shields Rosemarie at the recent death of their son James. A Celebration of Life for James was held on April 29, 2023 at Hopwood Memorial Christian Church, Milligan College, TN.

Also, many long-time friends of the EES will remember Werner Hausen, Pastor of the Tübingen Christliche Gemeinde during the 1980's. We recently received word from Norway that Werner passed away on October 20, 2022.  

Thank you Birgit

by Dennis Lindsay 

THANK YOU, BIRGIT! 

This month we celebrated with Birgit Hallmann her 20th year anniversary as secretary and office manager in the Institute for the Study of Christian Origins! This 20-year milestone of service is significant not only for Birgit personally, but also for the Institute. No one in the history of the European Evangelistic Society has provided more years of continuous service than Birgit! With her outstanding administrative skills and ability to navigate German systems and legal requirements, Birgit has helped to ensure a solid footing for the ongoing work of the Institute for years to come. Along with the late Institute Director, Dr. Beth Langstaff, Birgit assisted with shepherding the Institute through the physical transition following the sale of the long-time "home" in the Wilhelmstraße, through two major moves, to our current (and most optimal) location in the Hintere Grabenstraße 20"   

Her expertise in legal and bureaucratic matters helped to ensure success as we sought and obtained legal status for the EES as a German non-profit organization. Through the past 20 years Birgit has not only supported the Institute staff and operations, but she has served as a gracious host to countless guests of the Institute from all over the world. For 20 years of faithful and dedicated service, we say THANK YOU, BIRGIT!!